VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

2. To be truthful and cooperate with the HCC. 3. To be present at the administrative panel if called to appear. 4. To refrain from retaliation against any involved party at any time.

Appeals Students may appeal on one or more of the following grounds: violation of rights granted by the HCC; new, relevant and material information not available at the time of the administrative panel; arbitrary or capricious treatment by the HCC; or other extenuating circumstances. Students may appeal, in writing, the recommendations of the HCC within seven (7) calendar days of notification of the recommendation to the Campus Dean. The Campus Dean has discretionary power to affirm, modify, or remand the decision. The appeal must be in writing and be based upon new, relevant, and material information that was not available to the HCC. After receiving the written appeal, the Campus Dean will consider the request and will notify the student, in writing, of his/her decision within 14 calendar days of receiving the written appeal. Upon receiving written notification from the Campus Dean, the student, within seven (7) calendar days, may appeal the Campus Dean’s decision to the Provost. The Provost has discretionary power to affirm, modify, or remand the decision. The appeal must be in writing and be based upon new, relevant, and material information that was not available to the Campus Dean. After receiving the written appeal, the Provost will consider the request and will notify the student, in writing, of his/her decision generally within 14 calendar days of receiving the written appeal. However, the decision may take 30 days or longer depending upon the investigation of the case. The Provost reserves the right to obtain outside legal opinions on the review and the decisions that have been made, and to delay decision until such time that Counsel has responded. The decision of the Provost is final. Extenuating Circumstances In extenuating circumstances, the HCC may modify the regular procedure as necessary to uphold the spirit of the VCOM Honor Code along the following guidelines: A. Call for Termination : At any time in a committee meeting, the HCC may terminate proceedings on any open case. Any member may move to terminate proceedings and, following a second, the Chair will poll the members present with the question: “Shall proceedings be terminated in this case?” A unanimous vote is required to terminate proceedings and indicates that the HCC believes the accused to be not guilty of the suspected violation. If proceedings are terminated, all members voting will sign the Final Committee Recommendation (FCR) indicating their opinion with the following recommendation: “No offense has occurred, no action is recommended.” The case will immediately proceed to Finalization, Notification, and Termination. B. Recuse for Bias : At any time, any member of the HCC may recuse himself/herself from committee proceedings on any open case to eliminate any source of perceived bias. Recused individuals may participate in committee proceedings, but shall not investigate the case nor vote at the administrative panel. Recused individuals do not count toward quorum. C. Remove for Bias : At any time, any member of the HCC may remove himself/herself completely from all HCC actions on any open case to avoid perceived bias. Any member accused of a suspected violation shall be removed. Removed individuals shall not act as a member of the HCC in any capacity until recommendation is determined. D. Call for Mis-Panel : At any time, the Chair of the HCC may declare a mis-panel when the spirit of the VCOM Honor Code is not being upheld or the time periods extend past those permitted by policy. E. Ability to Interpret Proceedings : At any time, the Chair of the HCC may interpret any HCC procedure found to be questionable, ambiguous or in conflict. The Chair of the HCC will interpret the procedure in such a way as to uphold the spirit of the VCOM Honor Code until the procedure can be clarified.

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